Spirit of Cricket goes North & South
Date released: 24 June 2008
The Spirit of Cricket will be out in force next week at both ends of the country as MCC coaches introduce the game to both adults and children in Newcastle and Winchester.
Teachers learn new skills from MCC coaches On Tuesday 24 June 20 teachers in Newcastle will take part in a 'Cricket for Teachers' training day where they will learn how to teach cricket, with skills they can then take back to their schools.
Every year the teachers MCC train go on to coach some 185,000 children in England and Wales. In 2008 the coaches have already laid on training for nearly 200 teachers in Berkshire, Devon, Hampshire, Herefordshire, Kent, Glamorgan, Norfolk and Wiltshire.
The teachers in Newcastle will benefit from Team Leader Tony Robson's 22 years of coaching experience. Robson, a qualified Level 3 coach, has trained around 450 teachers in 10 years. He works with the English Cricket Board to provide coaching aids and videos.
Open Days
The MCC Spirit of Cricket Challenge also features Open Days at clubs in the 12 areas the Challenge visits. The Open Days allow children to taste the facilities on offer locally, totally free of charge, aiming to entice young cricketers to go on to join that club and play regularly.
Up to 30 children will attend the Hampshire Open Day at Compton & Chandlers Ford CC. The Club has four adult and four youth teams and benefits from a newly-created £420,000 pavilion.
Already more than 350 children have visited clubs across the country as part of the Open Day initiative.
Stephenson: Cricket should be enjoyable but fair and respectful John Stephenson, MCC’s Head of Cricket explained: "The MCC Spirit of Cricket Challenge aims to give children, who would otherwise have little opportunity to play the game, the chance to learn to play it in an enjoyable, fair and respectful way.
"From the glitz of the Indian Premier League to school and club fields across England and Wales, MCC believes everyone can buy into the Spirit of Cricket and benefit from it.
"Instilling this Spirit at the grass roots, when children are young, means they will continue to play the game in the right way in the years to come."